Is ray tracing really awesome? Is the difference big? Actual test videos of 37 games tell you

Regarding ray tracing, we have a previous article explaining it in detailWhat is ray tracing, and for many players, they must also want to know, can the quality of the game screen really be greatly improved after actually enabling ray tracing?

Recently, the well-known Hardware Unboxed channel conducted a test on 37 games to understand whether the game screen is really improved after ray tracing is enabled. Here is a summary for everyone.

Measured ray tracing effects in 37 games

In order to let everyone better understand the changes in the game before and after ray tracing is enabled, in addition to showing some actual game scenes in the video, they also divided the levels into 8 levels, namely

• Games where ray tracing will make the graphics worse:After ray tracing is turned on, the picture quality decreases.
• Games where ray tracing has no impact on the graphics:After turning on ray tracing, there is almost no change in the picture.
• It takes a closer look to notice the ray tracing improvements in gaming:The ray tracing improvements are so subtle that they have to be seen up close.
• Ray tracing changes the graphics, but it doesn’t feel like it makes the game better:Ray tracing changes the game graphics, but not necessarily for the better, it may just be different in style.
• Games where ray tracing improves graphics, but also causes defects in some graphics:Although the picture has been improved, it also brings more noise or other visual problems.
• Games where ray tracing affects only part of an object or surface:Ray tracing only works on certain surfaces or scenes, and the improvement is limited.
• Games where ray tracing makes the graphics significantly better:After turning on ray tracing, the picture quality is significantly improved.
• Ray tracing revolutionizes graphics and creates more realistic games:Ray tracing greatly improves the game’s visuals, making the picture more realistic and detailed.

Of the 37 games tested, only 23 were announced on the YouTube channel. The remaining more complete test content and games are only available to channel members, but they still have a lot of reference value.

The sequence of games shown in the video is based on the degree of improvement in ray tracing. For example, the first game “Death in Another Dimension” does not feel any difference, even if the screen is still:

After enabling ray tracing in “Assassin’s Mission 3”, the visual difference is not obvious. It mainly improves the reflection effect of transparent objects. You must look carefully:

I personally can’t see much difference in “Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart”, but Hardware Unboxed said that after turning it on, the picture becomes more natural and realistic, but the improvements in shadows and ambient light occlusion are not as obvious as reflections:

Cyberpunk 2077 is the game that provides the most ray tracing modes among all games, including Low, Ultra, and Overdrive. Players can choose according to their own hardware performance. Each level mode has a different improvement. Overdrive has improved a lot. You can clearly see the difference:

For other game scenes, you can watch the full video at the end of the article and look directly at the Hardware Unboxed test results.

It can be seen that the games (one and two from the bottom) that really have obvious feelings are not the majority, only 11. The others are either only a little bit different, or there is not much difference:

Therefore, the degree of visual improvement of ray tracing depends on which game you play. Some may vary greatly, but some may not be worse. Overall, only about 30% of games currently reach the standard.

Hardware Unboxed speculates that in the next few years, after ray tracing is applied in more games, it should have the opportunity to become a very important feature of the next generation of graphics cards.

Another important point mentioned in the video is that in multiplayer games, ray tracing has very little impact on the game experience, and performance and competitiveness are more important.

Full video:

What graphics cards currently support ray tracing?

The following is a list of graphics cards that currently support ray tracing

Source: KOCPC Chinese